Call Me a Proud Army Sister

My brother is six years my junior and we’ve had a good, albeit sometimes rocky, relationship. He was your typical youngest child- the one everyone loved to dote on and baby. He has a great sense of humor and would keep us rolling with laughter. But he was also the “black sheep” for awhile too. After years of issues, he is back on track again. He’s in the Army now and we couldn’t be prouder.

I think my daughter, the Redhead, has picked up on our pride in Andy. Her uncle is in the medical corps so when we are out shopping she is always scouting band-aids for him. She was perfectly giddy one day when she found camo band-aids. We bought them and mailed them to him immediately.

The Story:

Andy graduated from boot camp in Ft. Benning, Georgia. My husband and I took our daughter to see him for this special occasion. Redhead was amazed at the pageantry and the tactical displays. And she was very proud to call her “so-jer” (soldier) uncle. Needless to say, she’s happily told anyone who would listen that her uncle was in the Army and one day she will go “to Army too.” (Particularly if they get pink camouflage for her.)

While we were visiting with Andy, he tried to teach Red the Army’s “hoo-ah” yell. She altered it slightly to “hoo-up” and thought it sounded lovely that way. No amount of teaching could get her to change it! So her uncle gave up and it became a joke in the family that the Army-proud niece couldn’t quite say the phrase.

The Anecdote:

We put our “Army Strong” bumper sticker on the car and while out shopping one afternoon, we decided to stop at McDonalds for her favorite apple juice box and cheeseburger without ketchup. As we were getting out of the car, a truck full of construction workers pulled in. Loud and proud, they hollered “hoo-ah” and waved at our Army sticker. Without skipping a beat, Redhead yelled, “hoo-up” right back. If construction workers can giggle- they did.

@ nearlynormalized:
I sense sarcasm in that comment but I’m going to hope that’s just me misinterpreting your words otherwise I’d be offended (and I don’t even know the author of this blog that we’re commenting on).

On another note, my dad was in the Air Force for over 20 years and I’ll always and forever be proud of him and everyone else I know that’s in the military. The military has been a constant presence in my life. But that doesn’t mean I’m a supporter of the Iraq War, or even a Republican for that matter which is the reason why I’m commenting to begin with. I just feel that most Americans have this misconception that just because they’re against the War that it also means they have to be against the military and those who support it. I don’t understand why people don’t want to believe in patriotism. Well I guess I do since most Americans are pretty self-riteous and ignorant. I just wish people were more grateful for what we have here (even when times are tough).

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at the strong feelings people have about the War. Personally, I wrote this to express my gratitude to my brother and all the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces. They do so willingly (not drafted) and knowing full well that a tour in Iraq is a definite possibility. I also wrote this as a family member who loves her brother and is so excited to see the maturity in him. Though some of the comments have been sarcastic or politically motivated, that was not my intent as the author. Thank you for reading and stopping by.